Most nights, James Stankus sits around the the dinner table with his kids and wife. They talk about their days, exchanging stories. Often times, Stankus hears bits and pieces of comments about the school from his children.

It was this that first prompted him to run for the Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education.

“I thought, ‘Maybe I have something to bring. Maybe there’s something I can contribute here,’” Stankus said. “I feel like I have an ear as to what’s going on, and I want to bring that perspective back.”

Stankus was officially sworn into the Board of Education on Jan. 3 following his election on Nov. 8. His election replaced Maura Ellis, who served on the board from 1997 to 2016.

“I realize I replaced somebody who was a legacy in the district,” Stankus said. “I’m certainly not going to measure up to that level right away, but I hope to.”

“What [Ellis] had in history and experience, [Stankus] has in a fresh and new perspective,” said Erik Gundersen, Superintendent of Schools. “He’s a new face and voice for the public.”

While Ellis and Stankus had different stances on several policies, the most prominent difference regarded the recording of board meetings.

Stankus ran on a platform advocating for transparency.

“I understand that the district wants to look good in all aspects. I get that,” Stankus said. “But if your concern is to look good and that becomes too much of a priority, things start to fall apart and people start to question the genuine nature of things.”

Stankus said that he feels recording board meetings would help avoid the perception that the board is trying to “hide something.”  

“My goal was to find a better way of communicating effectively, between what I was hearing from my children, their friends, and what the board was saying.”

Stankus also feels that “innovation should not drive education.” He said that he feels “education should be the driving force and innovation should be the tool.”

He said that some changes, such as the eliminating marking periods, can make school harder for students.

“Innovation by nature is experimentation. Sometimes in the quest to be innovative, the students become the experiment and you may lose,” Stankus said. “Sometimes [the goal is] not to be innovative, sometimes it’s to be reliable. Sometimes the tried and trued ways are the best ways.”

While Stankus does not have previous experience in elected positions, he has been a resident of River Vale for the past 16 years and has been active in the community coaching sports. He has four kids: two who are currently in the PV district, one who has already graduated from PV, and another who will begin school at PV next year as part of the Class of 2021.

Stankus has been a teacher for 20 years. He graduated from William Paterson University with a Bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education and Master’s degree in both History and in School Administration and Educational Leadership. He currently teaches Social Studies at Elmwood Park Memorial High School.

According the Stankus, he was not the best student in school.

“I think that’s part of what makes me an effective teacher,” Stankus said. “Nobody could teach me unless I wanted to learn and that’s true of education, especially in high school.”

“I went from being a C and D student to an A student in the top of my department,” Stankus continued. “I have this perspective where I know what the challenges are for the academic and… for the student having difficulties in class.”

Stankus said that he felt his experiences as a student, a parent, and a teacher will guide him in making decision as part of the board.

“As a teacher, I’ve been introspective of the challenges facing young people today,” Stankus, “And as a parent I’ve been that way. You want to be a board member to all the students. You want to be as open as possible to different policies and different ideas.”

He acknowledged that he will have to disregard his personal opinions in order to best serve all of the students.

“Some of the things, I don’t agree with,” Stankus said, “and I have to keep myself honest about that… That’s going to be part of the challenge of being a board member.”